Refrigerating apparatus



L. G. COPEIVIAN.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18.1921.

Patentedsept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR.

d f a 7,,

A TTORNEY.

I L. e. COPEMAN.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18,1921.

1,430, 15%. PatentedSept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

IN NTOR. 4 1 W ATTORNEY.

I L. G. COPEIVIAN.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18,1921.

LASOAM, v Patented Sept. 26,192Z

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

J INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 26, .1922.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LLOYD COPE'MAN, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO EDWIN W. ATWOOD, OFFLINT, MICHIGAN.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

Application filed July 18,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LLOYD G. COPEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Flint, in the county of Genesee and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerating Apparatus.of which the following is a specifi cation.

This invention relates to wet refrigeration. It is the object of thepresent inven tion to utilize cold water into which the articles desiredto be kept cool are set. This, of course, is one of the old types ofrefrigeration. The improvement consists in the combination of this wetrefrigeration with an arrangement which utilizes water drawn for serviceuse to aid in keeping the desired temperature of the water in which thearticles to be kept cool are set. In this way a fairly uniform lowtemperature may be kept without undue waste of water, as will presentlybe described.

In the drawings,-.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic View of the apparatus showing it connected upwith an ordinary pressure-controlled farm water system.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section through the box from side to side.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section through the same from front to back.

a designates an ordinary grocers box or small refrigerator which affordsaccess through the cover I). This box is provided with the usualinsulating walls and insulating material found in well builtrefrigerators, but inasmuch as the details of this are not essentialparts of the invention these will not be described. \Vithin this box arelocated a plurality of coils c encased in stone-work (I. These coils arefurnished with water from the supply main 0 and discharge through thepipe f.

Turning to the diagrammatic view, Fig. 1, it will be seen that thesupply main 0 is connected up with a pump 9 operated by a motor 71controlled by the pressure switch '1'. This pressure-controlled pump isnow quite a common machine on a farm for pumping water. \Vhen suflicientwater is drawn from the service taps for domestic use the pressure inthe storage tank as is reduced and consequently this electric switchcontained within the pressure-controlled switch casing i is closedserving to 1921. Serial No. 485,412.

turn the current into the motor and operate the pump. All the waterpumped is taken first through the refrigerating box a and through thecoils c. Thi serves to abstract heat from the box and consequently keepit at a fairly low temperature.

However, in extremely hot weather, such as summer weather which rangesfrom 90 to 100 degrees, it will be very difficult to keep therefrigerator at the temperature of well water (approximately 49 degrees)by simply circulating it through the coils. In cases where it isdesirable to have a temperature in extremely hot summer weatherapproximating a temperature of well water, then it will be found thiswet refrigeration very nicely accomplishes it with a minimum waste ofwater. Of course, a refrigerating box of this character is not suitablefor all kinds of articles for they have to be set directly in it. It is,however, valuable for keeping beers, soft drinks, milk and things ofthat kind at a relatively low temperature.

Within the box are three stand pipes 0, j and k of different heights.Cut-ofi valves Z, 721 and a control these stand pipes. By keeping anytwo of these valves closed the water in the box can be maintained at thelevel of the stand pipe controlled by the other valve; hence the watercan be kept at. any one of three levels.

\Vithin the box is a relatively sensitive thermostat p which closes acircuit connected with the motor M when the temperature of the watercontained within the box rises above a predetermined point, say, 51 or52 degrees, for example. This motor is connected by a train of gears gwith the crank 1 which controls the valve 8. This allows water to bewasted directly. from the supply main e through the distributing pipes tinto the ends of the box. A check valve .90 keeps the warmer water inthe storage tank from coming back through the waste pipe- As soon as thetemperature falls to a given oint the thermostat again closes a secondcircuit and reverses the current through the motor, thereby closing thewaste valve 8.

Now where this form of wet refrigeration connects up and co-onerateswith the coil refrigeration is that the wet refrigeration dependsentirely upon the waste of water thermostatically controlled. The coilrefrigeration depends upon service water, that is, water that would beused for other purposes anyway. Hence by combining the coilrefrigeration operated solely by servicewater with the waste waterrefrigeration, it is possible with minimum waste to get a temperature invery hot weather that closely approximates the temperature of the.

water used in both the coils and the interior refrigerator.

In very hot weather it will not be possible to get such a minimumtemperature achieved by this wet refrigeration solely by circulating andwasting water through the coils, even when continuous. Continuouscirculation of water through the coils'could only be had by almost acontinuous waste of the water, and this would make the cost of thesystem prohibitive and yet the minimum temperature desired would not beachieved. On the other hand, it would also be quite wasteful to achievethe minimum temperature solely by depending upon opening the waste valveand allowing cold water to flow in and the overflow to waste out of thestand pipe. The amount of this waste water through the stand pipes isconsiderably cut down by utilizing the refrigerating coils connected upwith the service system of the household. Hence the two systems drawupon the same source of refrigerant and cooperate to achieve atemperature not possible with the one system alone and possible with theother system only at a considerable unnecessary waste. Furthermore, theentire installation may be regulated to the character of weather. Inmoderate weather it will be possible to get suitable refrigerationwithout any wasting of Water and hence no wet refrigeration will berequired. In weather somewhat warmer a suitable temperature for the boxcan be maintained by using the wet refrigeration at the first level andthe other two levels can be brought into use as the weather gets stillhotter.

What I claim is:

1. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a refrigerating boxarranged to hold water therein, and thermostaticallycontrolled means forfurnishing a new supply of cold water which empties directly into thebox when the temperature in said box rises above a given point.

2. In refrigeratlng apparatus, the combination of a box arranged to holdwater at a given level and with an outlet to hold water at such level,and thermostatically-controlled means for wasting water into said boxwhen the temperature in the said box rises above a given point.

3. In refrigerating apparatus,.the combination of a box arranged to holdwater at any one-of a plurality of selectable levels, a plurality ofcontrollable outlets to secure such result, means for supplying coldwater to said refrigerator, and a thermostat within the sphere ofinfluence of the water of said box and controlling a valve for wastingwater into said box when the temperature rises above a given point.

4. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a refrigerating boxarranged to hold water at a given level, a plurality of refrigeratingcoils within said box for connection with a service water line, andmeans for wasting water into said box for lowering the temperature whenthe same is not sufficiently lowered by the water circulating throughsaid coils in connection with service use of the water.

5. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a box arranged to holdwater, a plurality of water coils having connection with a water serviceline to cause circulation through the coils when service water is drawn,and automatically and thermally controlled means for supplying coldwaste water to the interior of the box when the temperature rises abovea given point.

6. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a box arranged to holdwater, a plurality of coils for circulating water in said refrigerator,means for supplying water in said coils, and means for wasting waterderived from said last-mentioned means, said water being wasted in thebottom of said box to provide a body of water at a given level.

7. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a box arranged to holdwater, a plurality of coils forciroulating water in the said box, meansfor supplying cold water to said coils, and means for taking waterderived from said supplying means and maintaining the same at aplurality of selectable levels in the bottom of said box.

8. In refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a box arranged to holdwater, a plurality of coils for circulating water through said box,means for supplying cold water to said coils, a plurality ofcontrollable outlets for maintaining a body of water at a selectablelevel in the bottom of said box, and a controllable waste for Wastingwater derived from said supplying means in the bottom of said box.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LLOYD G. COPEMAN.

